High Desert Detective, A Fiona Marlowe Mystery (Fiona Marlowe Mysteries)

by Thelen, Marjorie

  She righted her hat and said with a smile, “Thanks. I’m about done in.”

  “You did great, but horse riding does take getting used to. I really appreciate your helping. The work went faster with three of us, especially since you can read and follow a chart better than Sweet can.”

  Sweet heard the remark. “Paperwork is not on my job description,” he said, grinning at them. “Give me a horse and rope any day.” He led the horses away to unsaddle them.

  “Let’s see what Opal made for lunch,” Jake said. “I could eat a bull, hide and all.”

  As they walked to the house, Fiona said, “I like being outside in the sun with the big sky over head, and I like being around the horses and the cows and watching the horses work the cows. It kind of grows on you.”

  “I know what you mean,” he said.

  They washed up in the mud room and left their hats on pegs on the wall. Opal was in the kitchen. The overhead fan created a breeze to take away some of the heat.

  “Hello, you two. You’re just in time for roast beef and vegetables. Sit down. I’m taking biscuits out of the oven now. I guess the boys will be in soon.”

  Fiona thought the meal was pretty heavy for a hot day, but Jake, Sweet, Glory and Tommie dug in like it had been several days since they’d eaten. Opal tended to make meals with a load of spice. The meat had some kind of spicy marinade. Even the ranch beans had a bite to them. She had made a couple dozen biscuits, and they disappeared fast. Opal didn’t eat much herself, and Fiona wondered if she weren’t feeling well.

  As they lingered over coffee, Opal said, “Fiona, I need to go to town this afternoon and wondered if you could drive me.”

  Fiona smiled. “Of course, I’ll drive. Are we going shopping? I could use a few things.”

  “I have an appointment. But we can shop, too.”

  “I’d like to look for a contractor who could help me rebuild.”

  Jake said, “Harley Davies is good. I’d stay away from Bob Wills. He’s spendy.”

  “My uncle is pretty good,” said Sweet. “He’s slow but meticulous. You might call him. He is name is Sanchez. I’ll get you a number.”

  Fiona smiled. “Why, thank you. That is very kind. I’d like to talk to Lauren Brooks again. Maybe we could stop by her store, if we have time. She has names of people to recommend for some of the work.”

  “We can do that,” Opal said. “We’ll go by the lawyer and get that deed for you. He’s got it ready.”

  Olympia came in as they were finishing. “My-oh-my, I can’t seem to get enough sleep.”

  “It might have to do with what time you go to bed,” said Fiona, smiling at her.

  “That, too,” she said with a yawn. “Something smells good.” She helped herself to a plate and sat beside Fiona. “What’s up for today?”

  “We’re going to town. Can we use your car?” She smiled. “Old Faithful isn’t quite as reliable as the Red Bomb.”

  “You are welcome to it, but you have an expired license.”

  “I called the Virginia DMV and found out I could go on line and renew, and I did, and the new license is on the way.

  “Okay,” said Olympia. “I don’t think I’ll go along. I thought I might watch some of the cowboys and get a feel for ranch life. I’m working out the story for my next blockbuster novel.”

  Jake said, “Sweet will be working horses in the corral this afternoon. He wouldn’t mind an audience, would you Sweet?”

  Sweet grinned and said, “You come out, and I’ll show you how it’s done.”

  “Great,” said Olympia, giving him a sexy wink. “You might end up a character in my new book.”

  “Thanks for the loan of the Red Bomb,” Fiona said to Olympia. “Try to stay out of trouble. I know you’ll have a good time.”

  Opal and Fiona were on their way half an hour later, leaving the chore of dishwashing to the automatic dishwasher. Fiona was getting the hang of driving rural roads and kept her speed to the posted limit. She couldn’t afford another ticket.

  Opal said, “This rig is pretty luxurious, but I like Old Faithful better because you feel like you’re in a real vehicle on solid ground and not in a cloud.”

  “I guess both vehicles have their merits. What’s our first stop?” asked Fiona.

  “The doctor. I have to see the doctor today.”

  Fiona kept her eyes on the deserted road. Other vehicles were rare on this stretch of the road but there were enormous ditches to be wary of. “Are you feeling okay? You were awfully quiet at lunch today.”

  Opal didn’t answer, and Fiona wondered if she heard the question.

  Then Opal said in a small voice, “I’ve been feeling pretty exhausted. The doctor ran some tests, and I got the results back this morning.”

  Fiona waited, but Opal was not forthcoming with any more information so she ventured to ask, “What were the results?”

  “I have leukemia. The doctor is going to tell me my options this afternoon.”

  Fiona gripped the steering wheel hard. She wanted to close her eyes and scream no, no, no, I haven’t known this woman very long. She can’t be sick now. But instead she said, “I’m so sorry, Opal. What are you going to do?”

  “I’ll find out first what my options are and then decide. If I have to have treatments, I guess I’ll go through with it. Depending on the frequency, I might have to stay in town for a while, I don’t know. Driving back and forth to the ranch everyday may be too much. I have friends with cancer. Chemotherapy can be intense.”

  “I’ll drive you if you want to remain at home. That might be better. I don’t mind. I know you’ll probably want to stay at home. You’ll feel better.”

  “Old Faithful is not always so faithful, I have to admit. I don’t know if it will take a lot of driving.”

  “I’ve been thinking about getting a car. Maybe a rental.”

  “Truck would be better.”

  “Truck?” said Fiona. “I hadn’t thought about a truck. I’ve never owned a truck in my life.”

  “You need four wheel drive and something with a bed to haul stuff around in. You could get one of those extended cabs with a six foot bed. The Ford dealership in town sometimes has good used trucks if you don’t want to spend so much money. I know the dealer real well. He’d give you a good deal.”

  “Truck,” Fiona said again. “I never thought of a truck. I guess the later model ones would be easier to drive than Old Faithful.”

  Opal looked like Fiona had stabbed her. “Old Faithful is easy to drive. She’s just old.” She paused. “Like me.”

  “You’re the youngest old person I know. Let me think about getting a truck. I have to get used to the idea.”

  “After we go to the lawyer’s office we’ll stop and see what they have. You’ll like a nice big truck. They’re very versatile.”

  As they pulled up to the doctor’s office and parked, Opal laid a hand on Fiona’s arm. “Fiona, nobody knows about my condition yet. Let’s you and me keep it that way for now, okay?”

  “You secret is safe with me. But I wish it wasn’t that kind of secret, Opal. I’m so sorry for you.”

  “Don’t you be sorry for me, or I’ll be sorry I told you. I appreciate your offer of help. Let’s see what the doctor has to say.”

  Opal didn’t make it in the entrance door of the clinic before she met someone she knew coming out and stopped to talk. It was one of the neighbor ranchers, and they talked about hay and the dry weather until Opal checked her watch and said, “I have to run. Got an appointment I don’t want to miss. Good to see you folks.”

  The nurse called Opal’s name soon after they registered. Fiona waited in the visitor area and helped herself to a free cup of coffee and looked for Time magazine. The closest she came was Modern Hunter. She sighed. No Time magazine. Maybe they had it in the nice little library in town. She could stop and pick up a couple of back issues to read at home. She hadn’t had any news since she had arrived, which was hard on a news junky. She thumbed thro
ugh the hunting magazine and looked at the photos. Life in the rural west was so different than back east city life. So different.

  She hadn’t been waiting long before the nurse came looking for her. “Miss Marlowe, would you come back to meet with Opal’s doctor?”

  “Sure. Okay,” Fiona said, wondering if something had gone wrong. She picked up her purse and followed the nurse to the room where Opal sat with her doctor. She shook the doctor’s hand when he introduced himself.

  “Have a seat, please,” Dr. Martinez said.

  Fiona looked at Opal for some clue as to why she was called into their meeting. Opal smiled a small smile and said, “Thanks, Fiona. I wanted someone else to hear this to make sure I remembered everything right.”

  “Of course,” said Fiona and sat down.

  The doctor, who was young, dark haired and nice looking, handed a set of papers to Fiona. “These are the instructions for Mrs. Crawford while she is having chemotherapy. She will come in every day for a week to start. We will be able to do the first regimen of treatment here at the hospital. Depending on how she responds to treatment, she may have to go to a larger hospital in another city for different treatment.”

  Fiona looked quickly through the papers.

  Dr. Martinez said, “There are suggestions for eating, symptoms she’ll have and how to respond, what she can do and can’t do. I’ve explained everything to her. She can carry on normally, depending on how she feels. If she gets tired, she needs to rest. These papers are a reminder.”

  Opal said, “Please tell her what my prognosis is.”

  The doctor cleared his throat. “Yes. This type of leukemia is incurable. If she responds to the chemotherapy, it may slow its development.”

  Opal said, “And if I don’t respond.”

  “You may have eighteen to twenty four months at the most.”

  The stillness in the room was punctuated by the tick of an old-fashioned wall clock. Dr. Martinez studied his folded hands on the desk. “I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news. In this instance, Mrs. Crawford may want to get a second opinion. I am not opposed to that.”

  Fiona was in shock. “Isn’t there even a slim chance of recovery?”

  Dr. Martinez said, “Recovery is not an option in this type of leukemia. The most we can hope is to arrest development. In some instances, we could try a bone marrow transplant but Mrs. Crawford’s age works against her. Quality of life is a factor here.”

  Fiona looked over at Opal and said, “We’re going to beat this. You’ll live to be one hundred.”

  “Oh, dear, I hope not. That sounds so old. But we’ll give it our best.”

  The doctor rose. “The oncologist will be in on Wednesday this week. You’ll meet with her first and then start chemotherapy.”

  Back in the Red Bomb Fiona didn’t start the car but turned to Opal. “We better look for my new truck if we’re coming into town every day.”

  Opal nodded. “It’s all so sudden, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, I’m still in shock. So much is happening to you at one time.”

  Opal squinted into the glare of the sun. “I don’t know how I’ll tell everyone. I’d like to start the treatments and then cross that bridge, although it’s impossible to keep anything secret in this town for long.”

  “I’ll do whatever it takes to help you, Opal.”

  “Then we better look for your rig.”

  An hour later, Fiona was signing papers for a white Ford 150 late model truck that would be ready for pick up on Wednesday. She stood looking at her new purchase and felt slightly dazed. It had an extended cab, a six foot bed and four wheel drive like Opal recommended. It was automatic, and Rusty, the dealer, had given her an extensive tour of how everything worked.

  “Yes, ma’am,” said Rusty, gazing at the Ford with her, “you got yourself a fine vehicle. Just came in yesterday from a rancher out your way who needed a bigger rig. He took good care of it, too. We have excellent mechanics on site so you can keep the warranty maintenance up. Yes, sir, this is a fine vehicle.” He walked around the truck, smiling like he was the proud father.

  “It’s cute,” said Fiona. “I rather like it.”

  Rusty stopped and looked at her. “Cute? That’s the first time I’ve heard that adjective applied to a 150, but cute she is, I guess. She’ll be even cuter Wednesday when we have her all cleaned up and checked over good. We’ll see you then.”

  At the lawyer’s office, Wade Stewart handed Fiona the deed.

  “There you are, Miss Marlowe. We registered the deed this morning. You now own your own little piece of heaven.”

  Within the course of a few hours she had a new place, a new truck and a new role as caregiver.

  Fiona took Opal’s arm as they walked to the car. “Thank you, Opal, for going to the trouble of giving me the deed. But you’re getting tired. How about I buy you dinner in town? We can call back to the ranch and tell the boys they are on their own this evening.”

  Opal’s face brightened. “It would be nice not to have to cook. I don’t feel up to it.”

  “You do too much. Did anyone ever tell you that?”

  She laughed. “All the time. I can’t stop. I enjoy ranch life so much. I hope they have a ranch heaven where I can spend eternity.”

  “I’m sure they will. I know they will. But you aren’t going there yet. Let’s have a little fun while we’re waiting.”

  Lauren Brooks met them at the Old Towne Brew Pub so Fiona could get the names of the people she had mentioned as contractors.

  “You got a truck?” said Lauren. “No way. I can see you now hauling a trailer with horses and following Jake around from rodeo to rodeo.”

  Fiona laughed. “I don’t think I’m there yet. I can’t believe I bought a truck.”

  “Rig,” said Opal. “They’re rigs.”

  “Okay, a rig.”

  The waitress came to take their drink order. She was young, wearing a top that looked like it had shrunk in the wash and jeans slung on her hips. Fiona wondered if she ever got cold with all that mid-body flesh exposed.

  “Now that I have a rig,” Fiona said, “I guess I’ll have to start drinking beer. What do you have on tap?”

  The young girl recited a litany of their brews. “Dancing Ants is a good IPA, if you like a lot of hops.”

  “Hops? Maybe I’ll become a hops aficionado. I’ll try the IPA. What have I got to lose?”

  Lauren joined her in a microbrew, and Opal ordered whiskey and water.

  “I heard something interesting about that Pattie Smith gal. You know, Brewster’s girlfriend,” said Lauren.

  To hear better Fiona leaned forward across the table where the waitress had placed beer coasters and ice water. They were sitting close to the door, and the noise level went up every time another party came through the door.

  “What would that be?” asked Fiona. She was beginning to understand that Lauren was exceptional when it came to gossip.

  Lauren leaned in, too. “I heard that she did have relations here. I was talking to a customer the other day and missing persons came up. I asked if she had ever heard of a Pattie Smith. This customer is connected to the underground gossip line, and she said she had. That a Pattie Smith was related to the Browns who used to live up on the Ranch Estates above town, but they got foreclosed on and moved away.”

  “So there really was a Pattie Smith.”

  “Seems so according to this lady. Of course, there may be more than one Pattie Smith.”

  “Did she say whether Pattie Smith had gone missing?”

  Lauren shook her head. “She didn’t know. She only knew that they had mentioned that Pattie came through from time to time to visit and that she was an artist or something. Maybe they were cousins or some distant relation.”

  “Too bad the relations had to move.”

  “Yes, but I’m sure the Sheriff could find out who the relations were that she came to visit.”

  “Maybe he could,” said Fiona.

  It was
dark when Fiona and Opal pulled in front of the ranch house. Jake was sitting on the porch and came out to meet them. “I was beginning to get worried.”

  “We had a big day in town,” said Opal. “Fiona picks up her new rig Wednesday morning, and she now has a legal deed to her place.”

  Jake smiled into Fiona’s eyes. “Good news. You must be staying if you got a deed and a rig.”

  “I’ll need a reliable truck to get around in now that I’m going to rebuild.” She skirted the issue of the primary reason she had bought the truck.

  Opal went inside saying she was tired and was going to turn in.

  Fiona sat down beside Jake. “Any news from Hoover?”

  “He hasn’t found any rustlers or antique gun thieves. I’ve been thinking what to do and decided to post watch on the cows and that knoll of yours.”

  “Who will keep watch?”

  “We’ll rotate. Me and the buckaroos and the dogs. It puts an added burden on the operation but I don’t like that someone is sneaking around here. I’ll bring in the two Great Pyrenees dogs we have with the goats. They’re good watch dogs. We’ll bring the goats in, too. It’s about time to change their pasture. Problem is what pasture to put them on.”

  “It’s weird that people are sneaking around here and stealing your cattle. It gives me a creepy feeling.”

  “Me, too. What could they want up on your knoll?”

  “I think it is something valuable that we haven’t thought of yet. Buried treasure seems far-fetched, but I guess that would be possible. Has anyone else found anything on the ranch like gold?”

  Jake shook his head. “Not that I know. This region has a lot of hot springs but none close to us. No oil, no gold, no natural gas. That missed us. Mostly we have sage brush, rabbit brush, greasewood, rim rock, a lot of space, and not very much water.”

  “I’m stumped. I don’t know the area like you do. I volunteer to help keep watch. I’m a bit of a night owl.”

  Jake laughed. “Thanks for the offer, but I don’t think we’ll need you. This is a man’s job.” He winked. “But you could keep me company for a while on the midnight shift.”

  Fiona looked at him and smiled. “Maybe we can work something out.”